"This is an intensely interesting book. The Aristotelian reading of the plays is rich, cogent, and extensive. Professor Langis has made an important contribution not only to Shakespeare studies but also to ethical criticism in general."

"At a time when it is more fashionable for Shakespeare critics to concern themselves with ideas of social conflict, transgression and resistance, it takes real guts for someone to take Aristotle's ideas about virtue and the harmonizing of the passions seriously. The standard of Langis's historical scholarship is exemplary. What makes her treatment of the evidence so compelling, however, is the way she brings out the emotional immediacy of Shakespeare's delineation of his characters and their social situation for a contemporary audience."